Matrix sensors for use with a controller

ABSTRACT

An array of antennas form a sensor device. Some of the array of antennas function as receivers and some of the array of antennas function as transmitters. Each of the transmitters may transmit a unique frequency orthogonal signal that may be received at the receivers. Measurements of the received signal are then used to determine a hand motion.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/619,656, filed Jan. 19, 2018; this applicationfurther claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.62/621,117, filed Jan. 24, 2018, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.62/657,120, filed Apr. 13, 2018 and U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 62/657,270, filed Apr. 13, 2018, the contents of all theaforementioned applications are hereby incorporated by reference. Thisapplication is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 15/904,953, filed Feb. 26, 2018 and U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/943,221, filed Apr. 2, 2018, the contents of all the aforementionedapplications are hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD

The disclosed system and method relate, in general, to the field ofhuman computer interaction.

BACKGROUND

In recent years there have been various attempts to develop touchsensors that can detect hover at further distances above the sensorsurface. One approach is described in U.S. patent application No.62/428,862 filed Dec. 1, 2016 and entitled Signal Injection to EnhanceAppendage Detection and Characterization. According to thatspecification, the invention therein relates to touch and in-airsensitive input devices. That document describes the use of signalinjection (a/k/a signal infusion) to enhance appendage detection.Further disclosures concerning hover-seeking technologies can be foundin U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/488,753 file Apr. 22, 2017and entitled Heterogenous Sensing Apparatus and Method, which, amongother things, disclosed certain infusion techniques for use on ahandheld sensor. Subsequently further disclosures were made in U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 62/588,267, filed Nov. 17, 2017 andentitled Sensing Controller.

Trying to understand and model the position of a hand with respect to asensor presents several challenges. For example, in an infusion system,signal from nearby digits may be confused with signal from anotherdigit. U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/533,405, filed Jul.17, 2017, entitled Apparatus and Methods for Enhancing Digit Separationand Reproduction described techniques for digit separation. While bettermethods of finger separation may be developed to use existing sensordata, what is needed is a sensor that can reduce interference from e.g.,nearby digits. Additionally, determination of and accurate modelingfinger and hand gestures, motions and poses are also desired.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of thedisclosure will be apparent from the following more particulardescriptions of embodiments as illustrated in the accompanying drawings,in which the reference characters refer to the same parts throughout thevarious views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, with emphasisinstead being placed upon illustrating principles of the disclosedembodiments.

FIG. 1 shows an illustration of a hand-held controller that may be usedto model the movement and position of a hand holding the controller.

FIG. 2 shows a matrix array of antennas.

FIG. 3 shows another matrix array of antennas.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating field lines and ranges betweentransmitting and receiving antennas.

FIG. 5 shows another matrix array of antennas.

FIG. 6 shows another matrix array of antennas.

FIG. 7 is a diagram of a matrix array of antennas and a N×M matrixswitcher.

FIG. 8 is a diagram that illustrates the angular phase betweentransmitting and receiving antennas.

FIG. 9 is another diagram illustrating the angular phase betweentransmitting and receiving antennas.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating field lines and angular phase betweentransmitting and receiving antennas.

FIG. 11 shows a band having an array of antennas.

FIG. 12 is a diagram of the array of antennas.

FIG. 13 illustrates a band that implements an array of antennas.

FIG. 14 is another view of a band that implements an array of antennas.

FIG. 15 is another view of a band that implements an array of antennas.

FIG. 16 shows an array of antennas.

FIG. 17 shows another array of antennas.

FIG. 18 illustrates field lines in dome shaped array of sensors.

FIG. 19 shows dome shaped receiving lines and an infusion source.

FIG. 20 shows a plurality of transmitter lines arranged beneath aplurality of domed receiving lines.

FIG. 21 shows a plurality of receiving lines used in conjunction withmore than one infusion transmitter.

FIG. 22 shows a plurality of receiver lines arranged with linesperpendicular to the finger plane of motion.

FIG. 23 shows a plurality of receiving lines and an infusion source.

FIG. 24 shows a gradient blended transmitter infusion combined with adomed receiver lines.

DESCRIPTION

This application is related to and implements concepts disclosed in U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 62/473,908, entitled “Hand SensingController”; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/488,753,entitled “Heterogenous Sensing Apparatus and Methods”; U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 62/533,405, entitled “Apparatus and Methods forEnhancing Digit Separation and Reproduction”; and U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 62/588,267, entitled “Sensing Controller”; thecontents of which are all incorporated herein by reference.

The presently disclosed systems and methods provide for designing,manufacturing and using capacitive touch sensors, and particularlycapacitive touch sensors that employ a multiplexing scheme based onorthogonal signaling such as but not limited to frequency-divisionmultiplexing (FDM), code-division multiplexing (CDM), or a hybridmodulation technique that combines both FDM and CDM methods. Referencesto frequency herein could also refer to other orthogonal signal bases.As such, this application incorporates by reference Applicants' priorU.S. Pat. No. 9,019,224, entitled “Low-Latency Touch Sensitive Device”and U.S. Pat. No. 9,158,411 entitled “Fast Multi-Touch Post Processing.”These applications contemplate FDM, CDM, or FDM/CDM hybrid touch sensorswhich may be used in connection with the presently disclosed sensors. Insuch sensors, touches are sensed when a signal from a row is coupled(increased) or decoupled (decreased) to a column and the result receivedon that column. By sequentially exciting the rows and measuring thecoupling of the excitation signal at the columns, a heatmap reflectingcapacitance changes, and thus proximity, can be created.

This application also employs principles used in fast multi-touchsensors and other interfaces disclosed in the following: U.S. Pat. Nos.9,933,880; 9,019,224; 9,811,214; 9,804,721; 9,710,113; and 9,158,411.Familiarity with the disclosure, concepts and nomenclature within thesepatents is presumed. The entire disclosure of those patents and theapplications incorporated therein by reference are incorporated hereinby reference. This application also employs principles used in fastmulti-touch sensors and other interfaces disclosed in the following:U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 15/162,240; 15/690,234; 15/195,675;15/200,642; 15/821,677; 15/904,953; 15/905,465; 15/943,221; 62/540,458,62/575,005, 62/621,117, 62/619,656 and PCT publicationPCT/US2017/050547, familiarity with the disclosures, concepts andnomenclature therein is presumed. The entire disclosure of thoseapplications and the applications incorporated therein by reference areincorporated herein by reference.

Throughout this disclosure, the terms “touch”, “touches”, “touch event”,“contact”, “contacts”, “hover”, or “hovers”, “gesture”, “pose” or otherdescriptors may be used to describe events or periods of time in which auser's finger, a stylus, an object, or a body part is detected by asensor. In some sensors, detections occur only when the user is inphysical contact with a sensor, or a device in which it is embodied. Insome embodiments, and as generally denoted by the word “contact”, thesedetections occur as a result of physical contact with a sensor, or adevice in which it is embodied. In other embodiments, and as sometimesgenerally referred to by the terms “hover”, “gesture” or “pose” thesensor may be tuned to allow for the detection of “touch events” thatare at a distance above the touch surface or otherwise separated fromthe sensor device and causes a recognizable change, despite the factthat the conductive or capacitive object, e.g., a stylus or pen, is notin actual physical contact with the surface. Therefore, the use oflanguage within this description that implies reliance upon sensedphysical contact should not be taken to mean that the techniquesdescribed apply only to those embodiments; indeed, nearly all, if notall, of what is described herein would apply equally to “contact”,“hover”, “pose” and “gesture” each of which is a touch or touch event.Generally, as used herein, the word “hover” refers to non-contact touchevents or touch, and as used herein the terms “hover”, “pose” and“gesture” are types of “touch” in the sense that “touch” is intendedherein. Thus, as used herein, the phrase “touch event” and the word“touch” when used as a noun include a near touch and a near touch event,or any other gesture that can be identified using a sensor. “Pressure”refers to the force per unit area exerted by a user contact (e.g.,presses by their fingers or hand) against the surface of an object. Theamount of “pressure” is similarly a measure of “contact”, i.e., “touch”.“Touch” refers to the states of “hover”, “contact”, “gesture”, “pose”,“pressure”, or “grip”, whereas a lack of “touch” is generally identifiedby signals being below a threshold for accurate measurement by thesensor. In accordance with an embodiment, touch events may be detected,processed, and supplied to downstream computational processes with verylow latency, e.g., on the order of ten milliseconds or less, or on theorder of less than one millisecond.

As used herein, and especially within the claims, ordinal terms such asfirst and second are not intended, in and of themselves, to implysequence, time or uniqueness, but rather, are used to distinguish oneclaimed construct from another. In some uses where the context dictates,these terms may imply that the first and second are unique. For example,where an event occurs at a first time, and another event occurs at asecond time, there is no intended implication that the first time occursbefore the second time, after the second time or simultaneously with thesecond time. However, where the further limitation that the second timeis after the first time is presented in the claim, the context wouldrequire reading the first time and the second time to be unique times.Similarly, where the context so dictates or permits, ordinal terms areintended to be broadly construed so that the two identified claimconstructs can be of the same characteristic or of differentcharacteristic. Thus, for example, a first and a second frequency,absent further limitation, could be the same frequency, e.g., the firstfrequency being 10 Mhz and the second frequency being 10 Mhz; or couldbe different frequencies, e.g., the first frequency being 10 Mhz and thesecond frequency being 11 Mhz. Context may dictate otherwise, forexample, where a first and a second frequency are further limited tobeing frequency-orthogonal to each other, in which case, they could notbe the same frequency.

Certain principles of a fast multi-touch (FMT) sensor are known in theart and/or have been disclosed in patent applications filed prior to thedate of this filing. In an embodiment, orthogonal signals aretransmitted into a plurality of drive conductors, and the informationreceived by receivers attached to a plurality of sense conductors isanalyzed by a signal processor to identify touch. Drive and senseconductors (also sometimes called rows and columns) may be organized ina variety of configurations, including, e.g., a matrix where thecrossing points form nodes, and touch interactions are detected at thosenodes by processing of the column or sense signals. In an embodimentwhere the orthogonal signals are frequency orthogonal, spacing betweenthe orthogonal frequencies, Δf, is at least the reciprocal of themeasurement period T, the measurement period T being equal to the periodduring which the columns are sampled. Thus, in an embodiment, a columnmay be measured for one millisecond (T) using frequency spacing (Δf) ofone kilohertz (i.e., Δf=1/T).

In an embodiment, the signal processor of a mixed signal integratedcircuit (or a downstream component or software) is adapted to determineat least one value representing each frequency orthogonal signaltransmitted to a row. In an embodiment, the signal processor of themixed signal integrated circuit (or a downstream component or software)performs a Fourier transform to received signals. In an embodiment, themixed signal integrated circuit is adapted to digitize received signals.In an embodiment, the mixed signal integrated circuit (or a downstreamcomponent or software) is adapted to digitize received signals andperform a discrete Fourier transform (DFT) on the digitized information.In an embodiment, the mixed signal integrated circuit (or a downstreamcomponent or software) is adapted to digitize received signals andperform a Fast Fourier transform (FFT) on the digitized information—anFFT being one type of discrete Fourier transform.

It will be apparent to a person of skill in the art in view of thisdisclosure that a DFT, in essence, treats the sequence of digitalsamples (e.g., window) taken during a sampling period (e.g., integrationperiod) as though it repeats. As a consequence, signals that are notcenter frequencies (i.e., not integer multiples of the reciprocal of theintegration period (which reciprocal defines the minimum frequencyspacing)), may have relatively nominal, but unintended consequence ofcontributing small values into other DFT bins. Thus, it will also beapparent to a person of skill in the art in view of this disclosurethat, the term orthogonal as used herein is not “violated” by such smallcontributions. In other words, as we use the term frequency orthogonalherein, two signals are considered frequency orthogonal if substantiallyall of the contribution of one signal to the DFT bins is made todifferent DFT bins than substantially all of the contribution of theother signal.

In an embodiment, received signals are sampled at least 1 MHz. In anembodiment, received signals are sampled at least 2 MHz. In anembodiment, received signals are sampled at 4 Mhz. In an embodiment,received signals are sampled at 4.096 Mhz. In an embodiment, receivedsignals are sampled at more than 4 MHz.

To achieve kHz sampling, for example, 4096 samples may be taken at 4.096MHz. In such an embodiment, the integration period is 1 millisecond,which per the constraint that the frequency spacing should be greaterthan or equal to the reciprocal of the integration period provides aminimum frequency spacing of 1 KHz. (It will be apparent to one of skillin the art in view of this disclosure that taking 4096 samples at e.g.,4 MHz would yield an integration period slightly longer than amillisecond, and not not achieving kHz sampling, and a minimum frequencyspacing of 976.5625 Hz.) In an embodiment, the frequency spacing isequal to the reciprocal of the integration period. In such anembodiment, the maximum frequency of a frequency-orthogonal signal rangeshould be less than 2 MHz. In such an embodiment, the practical maximumfrequency of a frequency-orthogonal signal range should be less thanabout 40% of the sampling rate, or about 1.6 MHz. In an embodiment, aDFT (which could be an FFT) is used to transform the digitized receivedsignals into bins of information, each reflecting the frequency of afrequency-orthogonal signal transmitted which may have been transmittedby the transmit antenna 130. In an embodiment 2048 bins correspond tofrequencies from 1 KHz to about 2 MHz. It will be apparent to a personof skill in the art in view of this disclosure that these examples aresimply that, exemplary. Depending on the needs of a system, and subjectto the constraints described above, the sample rate may be increased ordecrease, the integration period may be adjusted, the frequency rangemay be adjusted, etc.

In an embodiment, a DFT (which can be an FFT) output comprises a bin foreach frequency-orthogonal signal that is transmitted. In an embodiment,each DFT (which can be an FFT) bin comprises an in-phase (I) andquadrature (Q) component. In an embodiment, the sum of the squares ofthe I and Q components is used as measure corresponding to signalstrength for that bin. In an embodiment, the square root of the sum ofthe squares of the I and Q components is used as measure correspondingto signal strength for that bin. It will be apparent to a person ofskill in the art in view of this disclosure that a measure correspondingto the signal strength for a bin could be used as a measure related totouch. In other words, the measure corresponding to signal strength in agiven bin would change as a result of a touch event.

Generally, as the term is used herein, injection or infusion refers tothe process of transmitting signals to the body of a user, effectivelyallowing the body (or parts of the body) to become an activetransmitting source of the signal. In an embodiment, an electricalsignal is injected into the hand (or other part of the body) and thissignal can be detected by a sensor even when the hand (or fingers orother part of the body) are not in direct contact with the sensor'stouch surface. To some degree, this allows the proximity and orientationof the hand (or finger or some other body part) to be determined,relative to a surface. In an embodiment, signals are carried (e.g.,conducted) by the body, and depending on the frequencies involved, maybe carried near the surface or below the surface as well. In anembodiment, frequencies of at least the KHz range may be used infrequency injection. In an embodiment, frequencies in the MHz range maybe used in frequency injection. To use infusion in connection with FMTas described above, in an embodiment, an infusion signal can be selectedto be orthogonal to the drive signals, and thus it can be seen inaddition to the other signals on the sense lines.

In various embodiments, the present disclosure is directed to systems(e.g., objects, controllers, panels or keyboards) sensitive to hover,contact, pressure, gestures and body posturing and their applications inreal-world, artificial reality, virtual reality and augmented realitysettings. It will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art thatthe disclosures herein apply generally to all types of systems usingfast multi-touch to detect hover, contact, pressure, gestures and bodyposturing.

The term “controller” as used herein is intended to refer to a physicalobject that provides the function of human-machine interface. In anembodiment, the controller may be handlebars of vehicle, such as amotorcycle. In an embodiment, the controller may be the steering wheelof vehicle, such as car or boat. In an embodiment, the controller isable to detect the movements of a hand by sensing such movementsdirectly. In an embodiment, the controller may be the interface usedwith a video game system. In an embodiment, the controller may providethe position of a hand. In an embodiment, the controller may providepose, position and/or movement of other body parts through thedetermination of movement proximate to and/or associated with the bodypart and/or function, for example, the articulation of the bones, jointsand muscles and how it translates into the position and/or movement ofthe hand or foot.

The controllers discussed herein use antennas that function astransmitters and receivers. However, it should be understood thatwhether the antennas are transmitters, receivers, or both depends oncontext and the embodiment. When used for transmitting, the conductor isoperatively connected to a signal generator. When used for receiving,the conductor is operatively connected to a signal receiver. In anembodiment, the transmitters and receivers for all or any combination ofthe patterns are operatively connected to a single integrated circuitcapable of transmitting and receiving the required signals. In anembodiment, the transmitters and receivers are each operativelyconnected to a different integrated circuit capable of transmitting andreceiving the required signals, respectively. In an embodiment, thetransmitters and receivers for all or any combination of the patternsmay be operatively connected to a group of integrated circuits, eachcapable of transmitting and receiving the required signals, and togethersharing information necessary to such multiple IC configuration. In anembodiment, where the capacity of the integrated circuit (i.e., thenumber of transmit and receive channels) and the requirements of thepatterns (i.e., the number of transmit and receive channels) permit, allof the transmitters and receivers for all of the multiple patterns usedby a controller are operated by a common integrated circuit, or by agroup of integrated circuits that have communications therebetween. Inan embodiment, where the number of transmit or receive channels requiresthe use of multiple integrated circuits, the information from eachcircuit is combined in a separate system. In an embodiment, the separatesystem comprises a GPU and software for signal processing.

The purpose of the transmitters and receivers discussed herein are todetect touch events, movements, motions, and gestures, such as hover,proximity, hand position, gestures, poses, etc. with 3D positionalfidelity. The transmitted signals can be transmitted in a particulardirection. In an embodiment a mixed signal integrated circuit is used.The mixed signal integrated circuit comprises a signal generator,transmitter, receiver and signal processor. In an embodiment, the mixedsignal integrated circuit is adapted to generate one or more signals andtransmit the signals. In an embodiment, the mixed signal integratedcircuit is adapted to generate a plurality of frequency orthogonalsignals and send the plurality of frequency orthogonal signals to thetransmitters. In an embodiment, the frequency orthogonal signals are inthe range from DC up to about 2.5 GHz. In an embodiment, the frequencyorthogonal signals are in the range from DC up to about 1.6 MHz. In anembodiment, the frequency orthogonal signals are in the range from 50KHz to 200 KHz. The frequency spacing between the frequency orthogonalsignals is typically greater than or equal to the reciprocal of anintegration period (i.e., the sampling period). In an embodiment, thefrequency of the signal is not changed and the amplitude of the signalis modulated instead.

The principles discussed above are used in addition to other features ofthe signal transmission in order to obtain meaningful informationregarding positions, gestures, motions, postures, touch events, etc. ofvarious body parts. In an embodiment, the system and methods disclosedherein use various properties of the transmitted signals in order toprocess this information to provide accurate depictions of handpositions and gestures.

FIG. 1 shows an illustration of a hand-held controller 10 that may beused to model the movement and position of a hand holding the controller10. Receiver and transmitter antennas are placed around the controller10. In an embodiment, the receiver and transmitter antennas are placedin one layer around the controller 10. In an embodiment, the receiverand transmitter antennas are placed in multiple layers around thecontroller 10.

The receiver and transmitter antennas can be operated selectively aseither transmitters or receivers depending on the needs of thecontroller 10. The operation of the transmitters and receivers in matrixand other arrays are discussed in detail below. The controller 10discussed herein is operated via the use of transmitters transmittingsignals that are orthogonal with respect to each other signaltransmitted. In particular, in the embodiments discussed herein thesignals are frequency orthogonal with respect to each other.Additionally, the controller 10 may have incorporated therein a signalinfuser that can infuse (inject) a signal into the hand of the user ofthe controller 10. The signal infuser is a transmitter that transmitssignal into the user so that the user becomes the carrier of the signalthat is then detected by receivers around the controller 10. The infusedsignal can be received at the receivers that are located around thecontroller 10. Furthermore, there may be multiple infusion points usedon the controller 10.

Because receivers (i.e. receiver antennas) are omnidirectional whensensing the location of the transmitters (i.e. transmitter antennas)with respect to the receivers is important in detecting and determiningthe interaction of objects within the fields generated by thetransmitters. Additionally, antennas often have static characteristics.For example, they have fixed surfaces areas and identities (i.e.transmitter, receiver, ground). However, it is possible to vary thesecharacteristics in real-time to dynamically adjust the behavior of asensor design. So for example, in an embodiment, when using the gripcontroller 10 shown in FIG. 1, the role of each antenna as a receiver,transmitter, infuser, etc., can be updated to reflect a new position ofa hand or finger. If a hand position changes relative to a surface ofthe controller 10, antenna that were previously transmitters 12 could bedesignated as receivers 11 to ensure a more localized view of a finger.

In addition to surface area, the behavior of each antenna can be changedin real-time to programmatically alter sensor design. Referring now toFIG. 2 by way of example, given a matrix of N×M antenna, such as asquare geometry of 5×5 mm matrix, or a 5×6 mm matrix as shown in FIG. 2,the behavior of each element could be dynamically designated as areceiver 11 or transmitter 12. In an embodiment, the location of eachtransmitter 12 with respect to each receiver 11 is known, this permitseach receiver 11 to use its position with respect to each transmitter 12to determine information from the receipt of the unique orthogonalfrequency signal from each transmitter 12.

Each receiver 11 can receive a unique frequency orthogonal signal fromeach transmitter 12. By knowing the distance from each receiver 11 toeach transmitter 12 and receiving a unique frequency orthogonal signalat that receiver 11 various measurements may be taken by the sensorduring a number of time frames. For instance, each receiver 11 candetermine the amount of signal received from each transmitter 12 that isa given distance away. So for example, a receiver 11 can take ameasurement of the signal received from each transmitter 12 that is 2 mmaways from it. This can be performed for each of the receivers 11.Therefore, a measurement that reflects the resolution of the signalspace at 2 mm for the entire sensor can be taken. This can then berepeated for each receiver 11 and transmitter 12 that are 3 mm apart, 4mm apart, etc. This permits the system to obtain better resolution at adistance as well as at closer distances using the same matrix array ofantennas. The movement of an object or user's hand within the fieldsgenerated by the transmitters permits the system to model touch events,movements, motions, and gestures, such as hover, proximity, handposition, gestures, poses, etc.

In an embodiment, some of the antennas are infusers that also functionas isolators, some antenna can also be designated as infusiontransmitters 12 that also isolate the response volume of a givenreceiver 11. In an embodiment, some antennas are grounded to reduce theresponse of nearby receivers 11. In an embodiment, fingers can betracked along their length by using the receivers 11, and thetransmitters 12 as isolators. In an embodiment, the antennas functioningas isolators share a common signal with an infusion signal that isapplied to the body. In an embodiment, the antennas share a commonsignal with an infusion signal that is applied to the body, andadditionally, each have another orthogonal signal that can be detectedby decoding the information received at the receivers 11. In anembodiment, each of the another orthogonal signals differ from eachother such that each transmitter 12 transmits one unique signal and oneanother signal (e.g., the isolation signal) that is common to all. In anembodiment, the another signal is not transmitted by adjacenttransmitters 12, but may be common to multiple transmitters 12, e.g.,every other one, or every third one.

Beyond identity of the respective antennas (i.e. whether an antenna is areceiver, transmitter, or infuser (i.e. a transmitter that transmitssignal into a user)), surface area of the sensor can be programmed aswell. For example, a parallel plate capacitor model demonstrates thatcapacitance will increase as the surface area of a plate increases.Given a matrix of square antennas, e.g., each with a surface of 5×5 mm,and a set of physical switches between each of the antennas, it ispossible to dynamically change the surface area of a sensor formed ofantennas. Combinations of these sensors formed of matrixed antennas canbe connected using their switches. For example, a group of two matricesof antennas can be connected to produce a surface area of 50 mm² (i.e.5×10 mm), a group four matrices can be connected to form a 100 mm² area(i.e. 10×10 mm), and so on. Of course, the 5×5 size is justillustrative, and this principle would be equally applicable to smallerand larger arrays of matrixed antenna.

Turning to FIG. 3, shown is an embodiment of a matrix of antennas formedof receivers 11 and transmitters 12. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3,the transmitters 12 and the receivers 11 are arranged so that they arealternating throughout the disclosed matrix array. In an embodiment,transmitters 12 provide isolation between the receivers 11. In anembodiment, each of the receivers 11 may operate as transmitter 12 andvice versa. In an embodiment, each transmitter 12 carries an isolationsignal. In an embodiment, each transmitter 12 may carry one or moreadditional signals that are orthogonal from the isolation signal. In anembodiment, no isolation signal is used, and each of the transmitters 12carries one or more signals that are orthogonal to each signal carriedby each other transmitter 12 in the array.

Each receiver 11 is operatively coupled to a signal processor to processthe signals received thereon. Because each element can act as atransmitter 12 or receiver 11 as discussed above, in an embodiment, thearray can be reconfigured which may assist in emulating an effectivelylarger receiver 11 or transmitter 12. In an embodiment, programmablephysical connections (e.g., switches) can be employed to effectivelychange the surface area of an element (and thus its sensitivity) byconnecting multiple of them together to act as one.

Turning to FIG. 4, shown is an illustration of receivers 11 andtransmitters 12 arranged in groupings. As discussed above the receivers11 and transmitters 12 may be arranged in any number of combinations. InFIG. 4 the receivers 11 and the transmitters are arranged on a 2D plane.The receivers 11 are formed into a node and the transmitters 12 areformed into a node. A receiver 11 is located at a set distance from atransmitter 12. In the example shown in FIG. 4, a distance of 4 mm isshown between the transmitter 12 and the receiver 11. The transmittedsignals may also come from transmitters 12 located at 1 mm, 2 mm, 3 mm,4 mm, 5 mm, 6 mm, 7 mm, etc. The field lines generated can overlap eachother. Regions of transmitters 12 and receivers 11 can be used to formcomplex arrangements on a controller or other object that is able toprovide information at the various signal ranges thereby being able toproject the distances at which the sensors are able to sense and be ableto provide good resolution at the various distances.

A signal processor is able to take the signals received from the variousranges and use them in order to form heat maps at those ranges. Forexample, a heat map can be taken at the 2 mm and the 4 mm range in orderprovide information and data regarding interaction at those ranges. Whena heat map is taken within a certain range, for instance the 4 mm range,a measurement of a unique frequency orthogonal signal from a transmitter12 located 4 mm from a receiver 11 is determined by the system. This canbe done for each unique frequency orthogonal signal that is transmittedfrom a transmitter 12 that is located 4 mm from a receiver 11. This canbe accomplished for other ranges as well so that clusters of receivers11 may be able to get heat maps for different ranges of transmitters 12.Thus the interaction of user within the fields generated by thetransmitters 12 can be reflected in the heat maps generated for thedifferent ranges.

Turning to FIG. 5, another illustrative sensor array is shown. A fingertip is shown for scale. In an embodiment, the transmitters 12 provideisolation between the receivers 11. In an embodiment, the transmitters12 and the receivers 11 can switch roles. In an embodiment, eachtransmitter 12 carries an isolation signal. In an embodiment, eachtransmitter 12 may carry one or more additional signals that areorthogonal from the isolation signal. In an embodiment, no isolationsignal is used, and each of the transmitters 12 carries one or moresignals that are orthogonal to each signal carried by each othertransmitter 12 in the array. Each receiver 11 is operatively coupled toa signal processor to process the signals received thereon. As discussedabove, in an embodiment, the array can be reconfigured to haveeffectively larger receivers 11 or transmitters 12. FIG. 6 shows anotherarray of transmitters 12 and receivers 11. In FIG. 6, some of the sensorelements may be used as ground.

FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of one aspect of the invention comprising adense array of receivers 11 and transmitters 12 that are eachindividually connected to a N×M switcher 15 that will switch any inputto any output. The N×M switcher 15 is then connected to an input channel16, which is an analog digital converter (16) and output channel 18,which is a digital analog converter (DAC) on a touch sensor chip whichis configured to generate and transmit the required orthogonal signals,and to receive and process incoming signals using the signal processor20. In this configuration, any of the antenna elements can be usedindividually or can be combined with others in order to form thereceivers 11 and the transmitters 12. Similarly each antenna element canact as a receiver 11 or as a transmitter 12. In an embodiment, groups ofelements are used together to form larger receivers to detect faint ordistant signals, and the element groups may be reduced in surface area(ultimately down to 1 element) to detect closer signals. In anembodiment, each of the antenna elements may be used as a receiver 11, atransmitter 12 or as a ground.

In an embodiment, the antennas may be laid out on a single layer; e.g.,a layer of flex. In an embodiment, the antennas may be laid out onmultiple layers; e.g., on one or two sides of one or more pieces offlex. In an embodiment, some or all of the antennas and some conductorsmay be laid out on the same layer, while other conductors and anyremaining antennas are on a separate layer (e.g., separate substrate orseparate side of the same substrate). As used herein, conductors andantennas can be interchangeable, however conductors (used herein)generally refer to the rows and columns. In an embodiment, the antennasand/or conductors may be embedded into a substrate, e.g., plastic, clothor rubber. In an embodiment, the antennas and/or conductors may beplaced on the surface of a substrate, e.g., plastic, cloth or rubber. Inan embodiment, some antennas and/or conductors are embedded into asubstrate while others are on the surface of the substrate. In anembodiment, the antennas and/or conductors are deployed on a flexiblesubstrate. In an embodiment, the antennas and/or conductors are deployedon a flexible substrate so that deformation and changes in the relativeorientation of the substrate can be detected.

Turning to FIGS. 8-10, in embodiments where there are multiple layers ofantennas various heat maps can be formed based on the interaction oftransmitters 12 and receivers 11 located on different layers. FIG. 9schematically illustrates the field lines produced by transmitters 12 onvarious layers. Heat maps using transmitters 12 and receivers 11 ondifferent layers can also use transmitters 12 and receivers 11 that thatare located on the same plane but at different ranges. Similar in theway that heat maps could be formed from using measurements taken atdifferent ranges, heat maps can be formed by using receivers 11 andtransmitters 12 that have different angular relationships with respectto each other. The angular phase is the angular relationship that thetransmitters 12 have with respect to the receivers 11 with respect to agiven plane. So for example, if there are multiple layers of receivers11 and transmitters 12, each layer would be a reference plane from whicha measurement may be taken.

In FIG. 8, the angular phase that is being taken is at 45 degrees. Themeasurement of the signal from each transmitter 12 from a receiver 11that is at a 45 degree angle with respect to each other is used. Thearrangement of the antennas in the matrix will determine what potentialangular phases can be used to create a heat map. Multiple heat maps canbe taken using the various relationships between each respectivereceiver 11 and each transmitter 12.

In an embodiment, the ranges between antennas and the angular phasesbetween antennas are used to form the heat maps. In an embodiment, onlythe ranges between antennas are used to form the heat maps. In anembodiment, only the angular phases between antennas are used to formthe heat maps. In an embodiment, random relationships between differentantennas are used to form heat maps. In an embodiment, the relationshipspresent in different patterns are used are used to form heat maps. In anembodiment, radial relationships between antennas are used to form heatmaps.

Turning to FIG. 11, a band 30 is shown having arrays of receivers 11 andtransmitters 12. The band 30 can be worn on the body. In an embodiment,the band is flexible. In an embodiment, the band is designed to be wornon the body. In an embodiment, the band is designed to be worn aroundthe wrist or palm. In an embodiment, the band is designed to be wornaround the neck, leg, ankle, arm, chest, or other parts of the body. Inan embodiment, the band is incorporated into a wearable article (e.g.,shirt, pants, undergarments, gloves). In an embodiment, the band has aninner portion and an outer portion. In an embodiment, the band has aninner portion, an outer portion and an edge.

Still referring to FIG. 11, in an embodiment, antennas are placed on theinner portion of the band. In an embodiment, antennas placed on theinside surface may be configured as transmitters or receivers. In anembodiment, isolators which may be elongated antennas are deployedbetween one or more groups of other antennas. In an embodiment, theisolators and antennas on the inner portion of the band are configuredto be in ohmic contact with the skin when the band is worn. In anembodiment, the isolators and antennas on the inner portion of the bandare configured not to be in ohmic contact with the skin, but ratherclose to the skin, when the band is worn. In an embodiment, theisolators and antennas on the inner portion of the band are configuredto be at a distance from the skin when the band is worn. In anembodiment, a dielectric material is between the skin, and the isolatorsand antennas.

In an embodiment, antennas are placed at the edge and/or on the outsidesurface of the band 30. Antennas placed on the edge and/or the outsidesurface may be configured as receivers 11 and utilized as signalinfusion receivers 11. Antennas placed on the edge and/or the outsidesurface may be configured as transmitters 12 and may be used asdescribed herein for isolation or to create fields between thetransmitter 12 and a receiver 11 that can be used to detect touch/hover.

In an embodiment, using a matrix of N×M transmitters 12 and receivers 11affixed to a deformable substrate, the shape of the substrate may bemodeled as a function of the relative distance and/or orientationbetween these transmitters 12 and receivers 11 (e.g. antenna elements).In an embodiment, compression, extension, or other surface deformationscause the orientation between the antennas to change. In an embodiment,compression, extension, or other surface deformations cause the distancebetween antennas to change. In an embodiment, the distance and/ororientation between the antennas may change due to strain or other forceintroduced to the substrate.

For example, global extension along a horizontal axis will change thedistance and/or orientation between receivers 11 and transmitters 12.Similarly, local deformations (i.e. protrusions) will produce a changein orientation between receivers 11 and transmitters 12. In anembodiment, local deformations will cause changes in antennaorientation. In an embodiment, where the placement of the antenna arrayand substrate properties (e.g. elastic modulus) are known (or can beestimated), signal changes produced by varied antenna orientation canserve as basis for measurements to model surface deformation and shape.

In an embodiment, changes in skin deformation during finger articulationand hand movement can be sensed as relative orientation changes betweenantennas in a band 30 worn on the wrist or the palm. In an embodiment,the antennas can be located within layers changing the referenceorientation of the deformable surface receivers 11 and transmitters 12with the skin, allowing to model different levels of deformations of theskin resulting on the characterization of the motion of the hand andfingers.

Turning to FIG. 12, shown is a high level schematic diagram of a sensorconfiguration. In an embodiment, a plurality of shielded antennas areinterspersed in a matrix of conductors. In an embodiment, each of theshielded antennas may be used as transmitters 12, receivers 11 orground. In an embodiment, the shielding may be planar or e.g., boxed inby an isolator. In an embodiment, orthogonal groups of the conductormatrix are used as receivers 11 and transmitters 12. In an embodiment,the transmit conductors may be used for isolation (e.g., for isolatingreceivers with respect to an infusion signal), and may vary in width. Inan embodiment, the matrix of conductors includes receive conductors onone axis, and both receive and transmit conductors on another. In anembodiment, the matrix of conductors includes receive and transmitconductors on each axis. FIG. 11 creates matrix of linearly extendingrows and columns of conductors that interspersed with antennas. Theroles of transmitters 12 and receivers 11 can be varied and implementedin order to providing sensing date throughout the sensor configuration.

FIGS. 13-15 show various views of a band 30 incorporating a sensor inaccordance with one embodiment of the invention. In an embodiment, asillustrated various sensing areas may be present. For example in FIG. 14the receiving band portion 31 may be located on the top portion of theband 30. In FIG. 15 a receiving band portion 32 may be located on theinterior of the band 30.

FIGS. 15 and 16 illustrate an embodiment of an array of antennasemploying geometric separation. In an embodiment, (in side view) thereis a dome of receivers 11 over the top of one or more transmitters 12.The transmitters 12 each generate a unique frequency orthogonal signalthat is able to be received by each of the receivers 11. The orientationof each of the receivers 11 with respect to each of the transmitters 12is used in order to determine interaction with the sensor and model themovement of a hand or other body part.

In traditional capacitive sensor, a matrix is formed from receivers andtransmitters, and “touch” is detected from interaction at the nodes(i.e., where a receiver and a transmitter cross). In an embodiment,receiver and transmitter conductors run in parallel, and multiplereceivers interact with each transmitter. In an embodiment, receiver andtransmitter conductors run in parallel, and multiple receivers interactwith multiple transmitters. In an embodiment, receiver and transmitterconductors run in parallel, and receivers interact with multipletransmitters. In an embodiment, receiver and transmitters are formedfrom antennas (e.g., dots) and the dots are disbursed. In an embodiment,a disbursed dot receiver interacts with multiple dot transmitter; in anembodiment, multiple dispersed dot receivers interact with a dottransmitter; and in an embodiment, multiple dispersed dot receiversinteract with multiple dispersed dot transmitters. In an embodiment, dotreceivers are used with conductor transmitters; and in an embodiment,dot transmitters are used with conductor receivers.

FIG. 18 illustrates field lines in dome shaped array of sensors. Thedome shaped array of sensors is formed from receiver antenna lines andtransmitter antenna lines. The transmitters 12 and receivers 11 mayalternate their respective roles. The field lines generated by the domeshaped antenna line are shaped differently than those generated by thestraight antennas or dot-like antennas. The properties of the fieldlines can be used to generate heat maps taken at different ranges andangular phases.

FIG. 19 shows an embodiment of dome shaped receivers 11 that are domedshaped receiver lines and a transmitter 12 that is an infusion source.The transmitter 12 that is infusing signal into the body of the user maybe one of a plurality of transmitters 12 located on the user's body orexternal to the body.

FIG. 20 shows a plurality of transmitters 12 formed transmitter antennalines arranged beneath a plurality of receivers 11 formed as domedreceiving antenna lines. The field lines generated by this embodimentcan be analyzed in a variety of different ways. Different range heatmaps and angular phase heat maps can be used in order to obtaindifferent measurements of the transmitted signals.

FIG. 21 shows multiple infusion transmitters 12 being used withreceivers 11 formed as dome shaped receiving lines. The infusedtransmission signal coming from various locations is able to be used todetermination information about the position of a user's hand.Furthermore, the attenuation of the signal as it is transmitted througha user's body is also able to be used to ascertain additionalinformation regarding the signals. This information is then used toconstruct the heat maps and provide information regarding hand position,gestures, etc.

FIG. 22 shows an embodiment wherein a plurality of transmitters 12 areformed as transmitter lines arranged beneath a plurality of receivers 11formed as domed receiving lines. The receivers 11 are arranged with theantenna lines perpendicular to the finger plane of motion.

FIG. 23 shows a plurality of receivers 11 formed as receiver linesarranged with the lines perpendicular to the finger plane of motion. Atransmitter 12 is an infusion signal source which infuses signal intothe body of the user.

FIG. 24 shows a gradient blended transmitter infusion signals beingblende with receivers 11 that are formed with lines perpendicular to thefinger plane of motion. The sensor methods outlined above may be mergedso that both perpendicular and parallel antenna lines are combined withdomed antenna lines.

The various embodiments described above can be used to produce variousfield lines that are able to be analyzed in a variety of different ways.The field lines can be analyzed to produce heat maps at different rangesand at different angular phases. The various relationships of theantennas with respect to each other can be used to produce an accurateview of the motions of hand at multiple degrees of resolution.Furthermore, the various organization and shape of the antennas (lineantennas, dome shaped line antennas, dot antennas, etc.) can further beused to create complex views of the gestures and movements of a hand.

An embodiment of the disclosure is a sensor system comprising aplurality of transmitter antennas arranged in an array, wherein each ofthe plurality of transmitting antennas is adapted to transmit a uniquefrequency orthogonal signal. The sensor system further comprises aplurality of receiver antennas arranged in an array, wherein each of theplurality of receiving antennas are adapted to receive transmittedsignals; and a signal processor adapted to process signals received bythe receiver antennas to determine a measurement, wherein a measurementof each of the received signals is used to determine a hand motion.

Another embodiment of the disclosure is a method of determining handmotion comprising transmitting a unique frequency orthogonal signal fromeach of a plurality of transmitter antennas arranged in an array. Themethod further comprises receiving at least one of the transmittedunique frequency orthogonal signals at least one of a plurality ofreceivers arranged in an array; and processing the at least one of thetransmitted unique frequency orthogonal signals to determine ameasurement; and using the determined measurement to determine a handmotion.

Although examples have been fully described with reference to theaccompanying drawings, it is to be noted that various changes andmodifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art. Suchchanges and modifications are to be understood as being included withinthe scope of the various examples as defined by the appended claims.

We claim:
 1. A sensor system comprising: a plurality of transmitterantennas arranged in an array, wherein each of the plurality oftransmitting antennas is adapted to transmit a unique frequencyorthogonal signal; a plurality of receiver antennas arranged in anarray, wherein each of the plurality of receiving antennas are adaptedto receive transmitted signals; and a signal processor adapted toprocess signals received by the receiver antennas to determine ameasurement, wherein a measurement of each of the received signals isused to determine a hand motion.
 2. The sensor system of claim 1,wherein each receiver antenna is adapted to receive signals fromtransmitter antennas located at more than one distance from each of thereceiver antennas, wherein the received signals are used to generate aplurality of heat maps.
 3. The sensor system of claim 1, wherein thesignal processor is adapted to process measurements from each receiverantenna at different ranges from the receiver antennas for each of thereceiver antennas, wherein the processed measurements are used togenerate a plurality of heat maps.
 4. The sensor system of claim 1,wherein the signal processor is adapted to process measurements fromeach receiver antenna based on linear ranges of each respective receiverantenna from each respective transmitter antenna, wherein the processedmeasurements are used to generate a plurality of heat maps.
 5. Thesensor system of claim 1, wherein the signal processor is adapted toprocess measurements from each receiver antenna based on angular phasesof each respective receiver antenna from each respective transmitterantenna, wherein the processed measurements are used to generate aplurality of heat maps.
 6. The sensor system of claim 1, wherein atleast some of the plurality of receiver antennas are located ondifferent layers from at least some of the plurality of transmitterantennas.
 7. The sensor system of claim 1, wherein at least one of theplurality of transmitting antennas is adapted to transmit a frequencyorthogonal signal into a user of the sensor system.
 8. The sensor systemof claim 1, wherein the sensor system forms part of a controller.
 9. Thesensor system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of receiver antennasarranged in an array to form a domed shaped array of receiver antennas.10. The sensor system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of receiverantennas are arranged in an array to form a square shaped matrix ofreceiver antennas.
 11. A method of determining hand motion comprising:transmitting a unique frequency orthogonal signal from each of aplurality of transmitter antennas arranged in an array; receiving atleast one of the transmitted unique frequency orthogonal signals atleast one of a plurality of receivers arranged in an array; andprocessing the at least one of the transmitted unique frequencyorthogonal signals to determine a measurement; and using the determinedmeasurement to determine a hand motion.
 12. The method of claim 11,wherein each receiver antenna receives signals from transmitter antennaslocated at more than one distance from each of the receiver antennas,wherein the received signals are used to generate a plurality of heatmaps.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein measurements from eachreceiver antenna are determined at different ranges, wherein thedetermined measurements are used to generate a plurality of heat maps.14. The method of claim 11, wherein measurements from each receiverantenna are determined based on linear ranges of each respectivereceiver antenna from each respective transmitter antenna, wherein thedetermined measurements are used to generate a plurality of heat maps.15. The method of claim 11, wherein measurements from each receiverantenna are determined based on angular phases of each respectivereceiver antenna from each respective transmitter antenna, wherein thedetermined measurements are used to generate a plurality of heat maps.16. The method of claim 11, wherein at least some of the plurality ofreceiver antennas are located on different layers from at least some ofthe plurality of transmitter antennas.
 17. The method of claim 11,wherein at least one of the plurality of transmitting antennas transmitsa frequency orthogonal signal into a user of the sensor system.
 18. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the sensor system forms part of acontroller.
 19. The method of claim 11, wherein the plurality ofreceiver antennas are arranged in an array form a domed shaped array.20. The method of claim 11, wherein the plurality of receiver antennasare arranged in an array form a square shaped matrix.